A drinkable sauce steals the show at top Queenstown restaurant
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
The Sherwood is Queenstown’s only two-hatted restaurant, having earned a 'consistently outstanding' status through a seasonal produce ethos.
A former sparse plot covered in bracken and wilding pines has been transformed into an organic vegetable garden looking over Lake Wakatipu.
Dishes served at the restaurant include a woodfired flatbread and a Southern market fish in vermouth beurre blanc.
Sipping my pink Lady Lavender cocktail at the window, I’m beckoned outside by a hydrangea bush to inspect the source of my drink’s botanical notes.
What was once a sparse plot covered in bracken and wilding pines has been transformed into The Sherwood’s organic pantry – a vegetable garden looking over Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu.
Bees fly back to the hives as I wander the rows, seeing the very ingredients about to hit my plate.
The landscape is brought indoors with the herringbone wood panelling, industrial pipe balustrades and the mossy green cushions I rest back against.
The first dish to arrive is the popular woodfired oyster mushroom flatbread, topped with leaves from the saffron-hued nasturtiums I saw just moments ago and mozzarella smoked on site, adding to the campfire feel of the soft, fluffy dough.
Next, the colourful and beautifully-plated Southern octopus and fennel escabeche arrives. Its acidic sauce has a hint of aniseed that mirrors the fresh dill sprigs and carrots on top.
The star of the meal, however, is the Southern market fish—gurnard tonight—with snap peas and sorrel in an ocean of vermouth beurre blanc. It is served, quite rightly, with a spoon. The sauce is so deliciously drinkable, I don’t want to leave a single drop behind.
The fish is lightly crispy but so delicate it flakes away with just the slightest touch of my knife. Paired with a dry Riesling, it’s a masterclass of a match.
It’s no wonder it’s all so good. The Sherwood is Queenstown’s only two-hatted restaurant, a 'consistently outstanding' status earned through an ethos of being guided by the seasons and the produce they bring. This philosophy extends from dinner to the filling breakfast I had earlier of Big Glory Bay salmon on seedy bread with dill crème fraîche and sweetly pickled cucumbers.
Somehow, there is room for dessert after all this. The strawberry-topped lemon tart is refreshingly cold and has just the right amount of tartness to cleanse the palate and close a very good day of eating.
Fact file
Sherwood Restaurant is at 554-558 Frankton Road, Queenstown. See: sherwoodqueenstown.nz.
Getting there
Air New Zealand and Jetstar fly to Queenstown from the main centres. See airnewzealand.co.nz; jetstar.com/nz.
The writer dined as a guest of The Sherwood.